Something Different (O něčem jiném) - Věra Chytilová

For those who are familiar with 'Daisies' - the more famous film from the Czech director Věra Chytilová, this is an earlier and more accessible film. It juxtaposes two women with very different lives - one is an international gymnast and the other is a simple housewife. Both grapple with existential questions.

It would have been very easy to fall into the trap of making yet another polemical feminist film, but Chytilova tackles the subject brilliantly. A must watch for anyone who thinks a film with a political message cannot be fun to watch. The black and white images are beautiful and the performances lovely. Here is the beginning of the film to whet your appetite -

More about the film - http://www.kinoeye.org/02/08/cieslar08.php

A Funny Old Man (1969) - Karel Kachyna

A scientist who was imprisoned in a Stalinist concentration camp undergoes heart surgery. The authorities are willing to rehabilitate him, but he has no will to live. The only thing that fascinates him is a girl who releases pigeons on the terrace of a building a few blocks away.

A grieving film. Brilliant use of the colour red and lensing. It is a wonder that a film so critical of the Communist regime could be made right after the Russian invasion of 1968 that quashed the Prague Spring.

See http://www.kinema.uwaterloo.ca/jachn952.htm for more about Karel Kachyna.